Since the earliest of times, there have been efforts to improve upon the techniques and equipment that are utilized in fishing. These efforts have seen the development of sophisticated equipment that is highly specialized to the point where specific types of fishing lures and bait are known to be most effective when fishing for particular types of fish. As a result, anglers now have many choices when it comes to fishing, and they have far greater success than in years past.
Despite this fact, significant problems have remained that have not been fully resolved by existing techniques and equipment. These include the fact that, even with the same type of fishing lure or bait, some anglers are far more successful in landing fish, particularly in relation to other, less experienced ones. Generally speaking, this is believed to be due in no small part to the difficulties that are encountered in the course of setting the hook.
More specifically, setting the hook is something that is easy to understand but difficult to master in the absence of years of experience. The art of setting the hook requires a keen sense of timing, i.e., the angler must give highly focused attention, must have quick reflexes that are developed from years of experience, and must have an awareness of the tension and variations in tension that exist in the fishing line. Moreover, due to the distance between the rod and the fishing lure or bait, the fish strike may not be sensed in sufficient time to permit the setting of the hook.
For these reasons, there have been a number of extremely diverse attempts to develop a fully satisfactory self-setting fishing lure, and these attempts have met with varying degrees of success. Among them are the techniques which are disclosed in Wentworth U.S. Pat. No. 283,444; Pennell U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,916; Euzent U.S. Pat. No. 2,530,007; Knott U.S. Pat. No. 2,560,875; Rose U.S. Pat. No. 2,582,758; Heyman U.S. Pat. No. 2,724,202; McCoy et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,185; and Blom et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,588. Despite these attempts, self-setting fishing lures or bait have not met with commercial success due to the fact that they have been less than entirely satisfactory in one or more very important respects.
For instance, these prior attempts at providing self-setting fishing lures have oftentimes been overly complex. This has meant that they either would not function as intended or they would be inordinately expensive to manufacture and purchase. Further, they have usually been manufactured in a manner that is not conducive to other attributes that are important in fishing lure construction.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the foregoing problems and achieving one or more of the resulting objects.